Imperial Beach adopts 2025 edition of California Building Standards (Title 24) with local amendments

Imperial Beach city officials on Oct. 1 adopted an ordinance to bring the city's local building regulations into alignment with the California Building Standards Code, Title 24 (2025 edition), including locally proposed amendments and clerical updates.

Public Building Official Huddleston and Fire Marshal Santos presented the item at a public hearing, explaining the decennial adoption process. Huddleston said, “This process takes place … in every city throughout California every three years,” describing the adoption as routine and noting that the state requires jurisdictions to enforce the 2025 edition starting Jan. 1, 2026. Staff recommended adoption with a set of mainly clerical rollover amendments carried forward from the 2022 adoption.

Councilmember Fisher moved to adopt Ordinance No. 2025‑1256; Mayor Pro Tem Seabury seconded. The council voted unanimously to adopt the ordinance. City staff said changes are primarily clerical and include some technical tabular revisions; local amendments remain limited and largely mirror prior, previously adopted provisions.

The ordinance updates the city's building, plumbing, mechanical, electrical and fire code references to the 2025 state code and preserves authority to apply locally adopted amendments where state law allows. City staff and the fire department will incorporate the changes into plan review and permitting ahead of the statewide enforcement date.

The council's action clarifies local code numbering changes and leaves in place prior local amendments that had rolled over from the 2022 adoption process. No substantive policy changes beyond those identified by the presentation were debated during the public hearing.